"The Pasvik Folk high school in remote northern Norway teaches teenagers to grow as young adults and escape the pressures of toxic social media by challenging them to get back in touch with their stone age brain and live like hunter-gatherers in the snowy wild. This is the subject of a documentary from Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady. Over winter months of almost continuous darkness, the teens cleanse themselves with"
"tasks such as camping out in subzero weather, making their own fires and driving sledges with huskies. Prior to all this of course is presumably a solemn promise to do without their phones, tablets and laptops, although there are no scenes of the kids actually having to surrender these gadgets (this isn't rehab, after all). They have to swim in icy water; and they make it look like fun. What doesn't"
"look like fun is the camping out and there is one tense moment when a whingeing student is told that he cannot avail himself of his teachers' fire and will have to build his own. As for the hunting part, well, yes, they do hunt, though the moment of the kill isn't shown on screen. Various teenagers bring their own problems to the school, of which the most important is surely"
"that of Hege, who is deeply depressed after the murder of her biker dad. Other kids have more mundane, but nonetheless real worries about fitting in and being happy. What seems to be most therapeutic is their contact with the dogs. As one teacher puts it: You are more than good enough for that dog just the way you are. Folktales is in UK and Irish cinemas from 5 December."
Pasvik Folk high school in remote northern Norway requires teenagers to disconnect from digital life and learn survival and hunter-gatherer skills through immersive winter training. Over months of near-continuous darkness, students camp in subzero weather, make their own fires, drive husky sledges, swim in icy water and take part in hunting, though the moment of the kill is not shown. Students are expected to forgo phones, tablets and laptops, but no scenes show formal gadget surrender. The programme surfaces personal problems, including Hege's deep depression after her biker father's murder. Regular contact with dogs provides significant emotional support and therapeutic benefits.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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